Successful invasive species are often closely related to other invasive species, suggesting that shared traits contribute to their invasion success. Alternatively, related species can differ in invasiveness, where some are highly invasive yet congeners seem unable to invade. Here, we compared the traits and establishment abilities of two highly successful invasive species, Gambusia affinis and G. holbrooki, to those of two close relatives, G. geiseri and G. hispaniolae. Using laboratory experiments, we compared low‐temperature tolerances and life histories of the four species. In a semi‐natural mesocosm experiment, we simulated the invasion of standardized, simple pond communities and examined the effects of these traits on each species’ ability to become established. The invasive species, G. affinis and G. holbrooki, were more tolerant of low‐temperature stress, had greater fecundities, higher growth rates, and reached maturity sooner than G. geiseri and G. hispaniolae. In mesocosms, the invasive Gambusia exhibited higher intrinsic growth rates and carrying capacities and thus achieved and maintained larger populations than the two congeners. Only G. affinis and G. holbrooki successfully established long‐term populations in these experimental communities. G. geiseri and G. hispaniolae failed to establish as a result of 100% overwintering mortality. These results support the notion that the ability of invaders to cope with the abiotic conditions of target communities has a major effect on whether establishment occurs, while life histories play an important secondary role. Our results showed that invasiveness is likely not a trait of the entire genus Gambusia.

中文翻译：

---

仔细研究侵入性和相关性：生命历史，温度和四个同类动物的建立成功

成功的入侵物种通常与其他入侵物种密切相关，这表明共有的性状有助于其入侵成功。另外，相关物种的侵入性可能不同，其中一些是高度侵入性的，但同源物似乎无法侵入。在这里，我们比较了两个非常成功的入侵物种Gambusia affinis和G. holbrooki与两个近亲G. geiseri和G. hispaniolae的特征和建立能力。。通过实验室实验，我们比较了这四个物种的低温耐受性和生活史。在一个半自然的介观试验中，我们模拟了标准化的简单池塘群落的入侵，并研究了这些性状对每个物种建立能力的影响。与Ge。geiseri和G. hispaniolae相比，入侵种G. affinis和G. holbrooki更耐低温胁迫，繁殖力更高，生长速率更高，并且早熟。在中型宇宙中，侵入性盖比氏菌显示出更高的内在增长率和携带能力，因此获得并维持了比这两个同类物更大的种群。仅G. affinisG. holbrooki和G. holbrooki在这些实验社区成功建立了长期种群。由于100％的越冬死亡率，G。geiseri和G. hispaniolae无法建立。这些结果支持以下观点：入侵者应对目标社区的非生物条件的能力对建立是否成立有重大影响，而生活史则起着重要的次要作用。我们的结果表明，侵袭性可能不是整个Gambusia属的特征。